The signs that school is back in session are all around us — kids waiting at the bus stop, requests to volunteer at school and forms to complete. My kids seemed to ease into their first few days pretty easily. Now it’s my turn. The carpool schedule is set, I ...
“Your move, James,” I said to my son as we sat on the sofa one night playing a game of chess. We were surrounded by a gallery of younger spectators. And we both knew from experience that board games in our house, at least those played during waking hours, always ...
Even though we needed gas, I was hoping no one would notice the sign as we blistered by at 75 miles an hour. Maybe, I thought, they were asleep. Maybe they would forget. I had been driving through the night — from Tampa to Atlanta and now almost to Toledo ...
Not long ago one of my daughters came looking for me. The boys told her that I was working —“making money” — up in my home office. She slipped in quietly, wiggled up onto my lap and spent a long moment peeking around the sides and back of my computer ...
A good friend of mine recently visited with her adorable 2-year-old kiddo. As we were driving around, I commented that toilet training must be something that she is starting to think about. She mentioned that her son had no interest, and she wasn't going to push the issue at this ...
“Please close the garage door,” Alison warned me just as I was climbing into bed, clearly put off by my recent habit of keeping it wide open. “People take stuff.” I quickly dismissed her concern and instead got comfortable with my newspaper. “You’re asking for it, you know,” she continued. ...
It was time for my son to travel on a four-day camping trip with his sixth grade class. As we packed, he checked off items from a list provided by his teacher. The items included typical things like toothbrush, toothpaste, sleeping bag, a pillow. I needed to squeeze a few ...
The kids and I went around the dinner table talking about what makes Alison so special. “She gives us lots of kisses.” “She’s a great cook.” “She’s really pretty.” “Without Mommy,” Peter said thoughtfully, “none of us would be here.” Everyone smiled and nodded in solemn agreement. It was one ...
“Do you like unicorns?” “What are you having for lunch?” “Are you coming to my birthday party?” she continued, never mind the party wouldn’t be for another eight months. Maryanna, our 5 year old, was chattering away on the phone. I had heard it ring and was too slow to ...
Joe and I could only hope to look this put-together when we finally get out for a date night. Sometimes, my pre-parental perspective on things feels downright quaint. For instance, in the months when we were expecting Lily, many of our friends with kids, and the few books I read, ...
The air was thick with the scent of a fast approaching Michigan summer — stifling humidity mixed with the sweetness of fresh-cut grass and the oily pungency from a neighbor’s fresh sealcoating. My parents had offered to watch the kids at their home so that Alison and I could have ...
The kids pressed snugly up to the glass at the aquarium, smiling and watching the fish casually glide by while I, for the umpteenth time, stood and counted them. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. “Look, Daddy,” someone said, “it’s a queen parrotfish.” There was excited pointing and gesticulation. “It actually sleeps in a protective ...
The directive from Alison was as clear as a thunderbolt echoing down the basement stairs. “You guys have 30 minutes.” Growing up, my mom imposed few limits on our Nintendo games. In those days it was a well-documented fact that the television could turn your brain to mush, but videogames ...
As I browsed through a collection of books at Barnes & Noble, one particular book caught my eye. The book was titled, "Driving While Under the Influence of Children" by Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott. The book was compiled of comic strips from the Baby Blues series. One of the chapter ...
“But Daddy, didn’t we already have Chex for lunch?” asked one of the kids. “Yeah, and for breakfast?” asked another. It’s true, we had been eating a lot of Rice Chex, and the tone of their voices indicated that they were in the market for something different for dinner. “I’d ...
Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com AnnArbor.com's partner news site MLive.com is on a quest to find the best barbecue in ......
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